Corrugated packaging and shipping containers are typically made from pieces of flat paperboard stock material that are die cut into shapes that define various panels. The shapes are folded along predefined lines between the panels with at least one overlapping strip or panel that is glued, taped, or otherwise affixed to another panel to form an enclosed boundary. The panels are folded and/or glued into place to become the walls of the container. The containers are traditionally provided to product manufacturers and/or shippers in a collapsed, flat, or knock-down configuration for storage, handling, and shipping. The manufacturers and/or shippers open the knockdown containers and fold appropriately to utilize the assembled container for packing and/or shipping the items therein.
The knock-down containers are typically manufactured by feeding flat die cut sheets through a fold-and-glue machine. The fold-and-glue machine applies adhesive and folds over select panels so that the panels are in the knock-down configuration. One common knock-down container is a display tray. A display tray is typically used to display items to consumers at a retail point-of-sale location. Often, however, the items are placed in the display trays by a manufacturer and/or a shipper prior to the items being shipped to the retail point-of-sale. To protect the items during shipping, separate shipping covers are placed over the items and display trays and/or the items and display trays are placed within a full shipping container. These two-part vehicles add considerably to the assembly labor as well as material costs associated with shipping and displaying the items. Furthermore, prior to placing the items on display, the shipping cover and/or shipping container must be cut open with a knife at the retail point-of-sale location. This creates a risk of injury to retail personnel and increases the risk that the items will be damaged. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide display trays and shipping covers that are capable of sufficiently protecting items during shipping without requiring cutting to separate the shipping covers from the display trays at the retail point-of-sale locations.